In the season finale, we delve into the deeper funding environment, discussing valuation challenges, sales period assumptions for the year ahead and where brokers are making the most difference in the process currently. Our returning guest, Callum Ferguson of Clearwell Capital, unpacks their view as a Senior lender on where they see the most risk to lending right now, and what the general consolidation of lenders means for their clients. Finally, we hear Callum’s advice for SMEs who want to improve their finance terms by packaging their deals as underwriters want to review them. Host Alex H ..read more

‘You are now certified, that you are not bull$h!t£ing’. Return guest Joseph Rajah exclaims the value derived from choosing social and environmental sustainability as a property developer. In this episode, we explore the bigger-picture debate around the viability and ROI for property developers to lead with sustainable practices as greater buyer and funder expectations evolve around ESG. The Joseph Homes CEO shared his insights into early sustainable wins, accelerating from 150 to 1,500 unit schemes and winning the trust of local authorities over the past 15 years of building the acclaimed bu ..read more

‘Focus on what you want to achieve in 10 years, rather than what you can achieve in 2 years, and capitalise the business for that.’ This episode features the inspiring Joseph Rajah, the UK's first B Corp registered residential developer and the driving force behind Joseph Homes. The astute entrepreneur shares his insights on how to make SME development businesses more sustainable, stating the importance of finding a strong finance partner to drive growth and remove the continuous workload of capital raising. Discover why Joseph went down the B Corp route for his business, and why it’s paid o ..read more

We're diving into the resurgence of open days, the effectiveness of traditional agent tactics, and the impact of bad CGI on your new homes team. This episode is packed with insightful revelations, guiding developers on key considerations for successfully marketing their properties in 2024. We're excited to welcome back Charlotte Moxon, Head of Regional New Homes at Strutt & Parker. Discover what's trending in new homes for 2024, including savvy social media strategies and a renewed focus on core marketing principles, as highlighted in Strutt & Parker’s ‘Housing Futures’ trend report ..read more

‘Your development appraisal is only as good as the data going in’ - one of the simple but significant takeaways from this episode, unpacking where quality new homes data comes from, and the latest buyer trends in resi development. Leveraging the experience of our two experts, Ross Allan, Director of Data at Hometrack, and Charlotte Moxon, Head of Regional New Homes at Strutt & Parker, we discuss the somewhat unknown challenges of Land Registry data lags, as we some surprisingly first-time buyer trends. Join us for this bite-sized review looking at how to carve out more realistic GDVs for ..read more

Episode 3 saw us dive into the current state of play in the land market, particularly for SMEs. Our guests, two powerhouse firms from both ends of the agency spectrum, revealed some interesting trends that have emerged over the past 12 months, such as Subject to Reserved Matter and JV deals. The discussion touches on everything from the proper way to build trust with vendors, the ‘PLC opportunity’ for SMEs right now, receivership activity and who are the realistic sellers right now. Our two expert guests are the legendary Doris Ishack, of boutique investment and land agency, D.I. Properties, a ..read more

In episode 2 of the new Series, we help unpack the current challenges of public engagement and consultation, to help inform SME developers on new ideas and means to better work with the public and planning officials. Host Alex Harrington-Griffin is joined by guest co-host Harry Quartermain, Head of Research for official partner LandTech, to explore the current process, and where  Our two guests are MD of established planning communications and engagement firm Cratus Communications, Julian Seymour, and, Harry Keen, of accredited Real Developer, London Green. Together, we discuss everything ..read more

In this first episode of the new Series, we delve into the role and effect of politics within the planning system, and how developers can better use local political info to shape their planning strategies. Host Alex Harrington-Griffin is joined by guest co-host Harry Quartermain, Head of Research for official partner’s LandTech, to navigate what the current political landscape, alongside the highly challenging planning system. Our guests for the Series 3 two-part kick-off session are the MD of esteemed planning communications and engagement firm Cratus Communications, Julian Seymour, and ret ..read more

Dive into part two of our riveting conversation, where we delve into the upcoming challenges for SMEs in the year ahead and reveal how they can equip themselves to overcome these obstacles. Join us as we uncover pivotal emerging topics, including the possible implementation of a 2nd fire core in tall buildings, the approach of new planning requirements such as bio-diversity net gain, the First Homes Policy, and ambitious sustainability targets. Drawing from the insightful LandTech London and South-east Regional reports, we discuss the importance of forging transparent negotiations with agents ..read more

In this first instalment of a two-part piece, we look back on the challenges and trends that have most significantly impacted SME developers' ability to buy and progress development. Harry Quartermain, who is our guest co-host and Head of Research & Insights at LandTech, worked with Alex and our guests to bring to life the data from the recent London and South East Regional Reports and identified how SMEs are affected in real terms.  Our Senior guests: Lynsey-Kay Porter from Real Developer, Antler Homes PLC and Orlando Llyod, of Knight Frank Residential Development team helped to unp ..read more